‘94 4x4 Swap/Build

[DRanger024]

I didn’t actually cut my crossmember clean in half. I slit it more towards the passenger side bend I think because it was the flattest there. When I got it up in between the frame rails, I bolted it together finger tight then used the floor jack and vise grips to line it up so the kerf of the cut was even. Tack the outer edges of the cross member to hold the gap and weld whichever direction you are comfortable with. I went vertical up for the penetration. For plating, just weld some 1/8” thick straps along the bottom flanges of the crossmember about 4” long. That’s all I’ve done and it’s held up perfectly. I actually jumped the truck before I plated the crossmember with zero issues.

 

[lowspeedpursuit]

Thanks so much, man. Folded instead of cutting all the way through and it popped right in. Much appreciated!

 

[DRanger024]

Thanks so much, man. Folded instead of cutting all the way through and it popped right in. Much appreciated!

No problem! Glad to help.

 

[DRanger024]

She might be ugly, but I love her.

 

[planeflyer21]

Looks good to me!

 

[DRanger024]

Looks good to me!

Thank you

 

[DRanger024]

Finally purchased one of these…

It’s only a 9500 but I kind of felt like the 12000 was overkill.

Plan is to try getting it installed before we leave Thursday morning. I bought a Badlands winch plate to weld to my bumper mounts so everything should be behind/under the grille. Hopefully.

 

[DRanger024]

Small snag with the winch. I need to cut the stock bumper mounts off the frame rails, sleeve the frame for through bolts and move my plates in the bumper out. The winch is a half inch wider than the space I wanted to tuck it in. I think I’ll move the bumper forward an inch or so at the same time. I have enough room for it otherwise.

 

[DRanger024]

So we did our annual guys weekend trip to the UP. Did the same trail from Crandon, Wis. to the tip of Michigan’s Keewenaw peninsula. We modified it slightly this year and only did the fun stuff really. You miss a lot of neat views and stuff this way but it cuts out the worst sections of trail. Made one grave mistake that took out the front diff in my truck along the way. The Ranger and the Yota my buddy built

The worst “mud hole” of the whole trip. There was a tree across it about 2/3rds of the way in, bottom was fine sand and it stunk!

Through the other side. There was a tree down about 2/3rds of the way in, bottom was fine sand. Naturally I forgot my chainsaw so we had to use an axe where necessary. There were 3 trees down across the trail and we used the winch to clear all three.

Saw some neat stuff along the way.

Truck hit 300,000 along the way and I missed it by 3.8 miles

Final destination. That’s Lake Superior in the background.

Also drive out to check this out. It was about 30 minutes from where we camped.

Could literally drive right up to the lake there. The beach is all small rock though so you sink fast!

At this point I realized I had messed up the front diff in the truck. Did about 40 highway miles the day before with the hubs locked and it started a pulsating howl. Bearings are toast. We booked it back to my parents house about 70 miles away and stayed the night there before heading home to Wisconsin.

I ordered a used front 3rd member over the internet from a junkyard about an hour away. When I arrived in my wife’s Explorer, this is what they had for me!

Gladly tossed it in and left. It’s in the back of the Ranger now until I’m ready to work on it. Kind of playing with the idea of doing the lower ball joint cut and turn and also going to uni balls.

 

[DRanger024]

So after reading through stuff, I doubt I’ll do a cut and turn. I may offset the uni balls towards the top of the beams a little but that will be it. I ordered seals for the new used front diff and the guy at the junkyard was nice enough to cut the radius arms off at the stud instead of right in the middle. So I’ll be rebuilding my extended radius arms also. Looking into K-link steering as I have a feeling the front will flex much better with the uni balls.

I have a lot of parts to order and I’m not going to lie, it’s nice not to feel rushed for once.

 

[DRanger024]

Got the used D35 stripped down. New seals installed in the chunk and everything pressure washed. I need to decide real quick if I’m going to cut the lower ball joint mount out of the beams and pull them out some. I’m almost maxed out on camber adjustment and have no plans on modifying my setup any further. The truck flat out works for me as it sits.

Used it as a wheelbarrow a bit today. Having an addition put on the house and the garage. I have 168 more landscaping blocks to move before we’re completely ready and work can begin.

 

[DRanger024]

Not much new. The half rebuilt front axle is in.

Did brand new pivot bushings and seals. I went around the pivot bushings with a punch and shrunk the flared end and they pushed right out.

Got everything painted up with Por15 and top coated with rustoleum professional and bolted the “new” third member back in.

Purple smiley per the kids request. Yes my garage is a disaster.

And in the truck.

Here’s a small photo dump of what I found wrong inside the original axle.

Pretty sure I will be checking that seal at least annually from here on out.

 

[scotts90ranger]

If you think your garage is a disaster, do NOT look at mine... you have floor space...

Conveniently I don't do much in water so apparently my seals are ok? I haven't looked too close, that's rough...

 

[DRanger024]

The garage isn’t horrible but it bugs me. Now that the kids are getting a little older and are busy with extracurricular stuff, time to clean becomes less important. I find myself squeezing projects in anywhere I can.

 

[DRanger024]

Ordered a Smittybilt awning for camping. I also ordered the walls to go with it but haven’t gotten them yet. I’m really against the whole “overlander” look because everyone with a Jeep in my area goes hog on it but I’m also tired of trying to bungee a tarp between two trucks and still getting wet.

Pretty neat little unit. It all folds up into an aluminum extrusion inside the bag. Setting it up alone can be a little tricky but I’ve only done it once so far and have some ideas of a better way. Looking forward to trying it on an overnight trip towards the end of the month.